Written Answers Tuesday 29 July 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of alcohol poisoning there have been in each year since 1950.

Shona Robison: The following tables show the annual figures for the number of discharges from acute hospitals in Scotland with a diagnosis of alcohol poisoning for the years 1981-82 to 2006-07.

  World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes have been revised four times from 1950 to date. ICD6 was in use from 1950 to 1957, ICD7 from 1958 to 1968, ICD8 from 1968 to 1980, ICD9 from 1981 to 1996 and ICD10 from 1996 to date. Codes cannot be matched exactly between revisions and as a result trend data is not reliable. The match between ICD9 and ICD10 however, is good and information has been supplied for the years covered by these two revisions.

  ICD9 Codes

  

 Year
 Number of Discharges


 1981-82
 1,060


 1982-83
 892


 1983-84
 938


 1984-85
 1,046


 1985-86
 1,040


 1986-87
 1,101


 1987-88
 1,061


 1988-89
 959


 1989-90
 935


 1990-91
 1,019


 1991-92
 1,053


 1992-93
 1,169


 1993-94
 1,305


 1994-95
 1,342


 1995-96
 1,629



  ICD10 codes

  

 Year
 Number of Discharges


 1996-97
 2,299


 1997-98
 3,315


 1998-99
 2,952


 1999-2000
 2,974


 2000-01
 3,016


 2001-02
 3,105


 2002-03
 3,130


 2003-04
 2,776


 2004-05
 2,896


 2005-06
 3,847


 2006-07
 3,929

Ambulance Service

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average ambulance crews spent on emergency call-outs in each NHS board in the last year for which information is available.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the table below which sets out the average service time in minutes by NHS board for each type of call for 2007-08.

  

 
 Emergency
 Urgent
 Routine


 NHS Argyll and Clyde
 44.56
 63.18
 60.20


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 44.18
 55.43
 51.09


 NHS Borders
 60.21
 68.67
 89.38


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 53.50
 72.27
 93.43


 NHS Fife
 45.08
 59.42
 62.79


 NHS Forth Valley
 53.94
 67.24
 75.33


 NHS Grampian
 44.69
 64.82
 59.95


 NHS Greater Glasgow
 48.20
 68.59
 113.48


 NHS Highland
 49.07
 77.02
 63.97


 NHS Lanarkshire
 46.73
 60.53
 58.44


 NHS Lothian
 52.00
 71.17
 91.02


 NHS Orkney
 41.46
 43.14
 24.46


 NHS Shetland
 49.72
 59.70
 38.22


 NHS Tayside
 48.85
 63.89
 80.07


 NHS Western Isles
 45.22
 54.33
 38.70


 Average
 48.49
 63.29
 66.70



  Notes:

  *Service time is defined as the point at which the first vehicle is allocated to a call to the point at which the last vehicle is clear, either from the scene or the hospital depending on the requirement to take the patient to hospital.

  **The Scottish Ambulance Service IT systems record data under the previous structure of 15 geographic health boards.

Ambulance Service

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls were received by each emergency medical dispatch centre in each year since 1998 and what the staff numbers were at each centre in each such year.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service have provided the call numbers and staff numbers for each emergency medical dispatch centre (EMDC) and these are set out in the following table. Call information is not held for the years prior to 2002-03 which was when the new telephone system was introduced.

  Emergency Calls by EMDC

  

 
 Edinburgh
 Inverness
 Paisley
 Total


 2002-03
 79,825
 1,365
 0
 81,190


 2003-04
 161,411
 55,811
 38,685
 255,907


 2004-05
 165,941
 56,854
 227,956
 450,751


 2005-06
 174,255
 59,568
 246,673
 480,496


 2006-07
 217,448
 78,837
 319,119
 615,404


 2007-08
 226,986
 80,924
 313,687
 621,597



  Notes:

  1. 2002-03 data for Edinburgh is for September 2002 to March 2003.

  2. 2002-03 data for Inverness is for March 2003.

  3. 2003-04 data for Paisley is for August 2003 to March 2004.

  4. All other figures are full year April to March and incomplete years reflect the move to new telephone system.

  5. The figures provided reflect emergency calls received in each EMDC and do not include urgent and routine calls.

  EMDC Staff Numbers

  

 Control Room / EMDC
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 Aberdeen
 17
 18
 18
 18
 n/a


 Inverness
 11.5
 12
 12
 12
 45


 Dundee
 11
 21
 20
 29
 n/a


 Motherwell
 19
 14
 14
 14
 n/a


 Edinburgh
 32.5
 20.5
 27.5
 28.5
 58


 Paisley
 10
 11
 11
 10.5
 16.4


 Ayr
 13
 13.5
 13.5
 12
 12


 Glasgow
 18.1
 22.1
 22.1
 23.1
 44.1


 Total
 132.1
 132.1
 138.1
 147.1
 175.5



  

 EMDC
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 Inverness
 47
 47
 49
 50
 51


 Edinburgh
 64
 64
 62
 72
 82


 Paisley
 73
 73
 75
 93
 93


 Total
 184
 184
 186
 215
 226



  Note: 1. Numbers of staff are for whole-time equivalent.

Ambulance Service

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals have been considered for reconfiguring ambulance services in the (a) Grampian and (b) Highlands and Islands areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the (a) Grampian and (b) Highlands and Islands areas have been subject to consultation with staff or with trade unions representing staff in the relevant Scottish Ambulance Service divisions.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the (a) Grampian and (b) Highlands and Islands areas have been subject to consultation with NHS boards, local authorities, police or fire services or any external stakeholders in the relevant areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the (a) Grampian and (b) Highlands and Islands areas have been subject to consultation with or a report by the independent scrutiny panel set up by ministers to report on proposals for reconfiguration of NHS services.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation carried out in relation to any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the (a) Grampian and (b) Highlands and Islands areas is in line with the Partnership Information Network guidelines issued to NHS boards and the Scottish Ambulance Service and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals have been considered for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) East Central and (b) South East divisional areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) East Central and (b) South East divisional areas have been subject to consultation with staff or with trade unions representing staff in the relevant divisions.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) East Central and (b) South East divisional areas have been subject to consultation with NHS boards, local authorities, police or fire services or any external stakeholders in the relevant areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) East Central and (b) South East divisional areas have been subject to consultation with or a report by the independent scrutiny panel set up by ministers to report on proposals for reconfiguration of NHS services.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation carried out in relation to any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) East Central and (b) South East divisional areas is in line with the Partnership Information Network guidelines issued to NHS boards and the Scottish Ambulance Service and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals have been considered for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) West Central and (b) South West divisional areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) West Central and (b) South West divisional areas have been subject to consultation with staff or with trade unions representing staff in the relevant divisions.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) West Central and (b) South West divisional areas have been subject to consultation with NHS boards, local authorities, police or fire services or any external stakeholders in the relevant areas.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) West Central and (b) South West divisional areas have been subject to consultation with or a report by the independent scrutiny panel set up by ministers to report on proposals for reconfiguration of NHS services.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation carried out in relation to any proposals for reconfiguring ambulance services in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (a) West Central and (b) South West divisional areas is in line with the Partnership Information Network guidelines issued to NHS boards and the Scottish Ambulance Service and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Shona Robison: There are currently no plans nor proposals to reconfigure ambulance services in Scotland. However, the Scottish Ambulance Service continues to utilise and manage all its resources to deliver the highest possible levels of patient care.

  In relation to operational management, however, the Scottish Ambulance Service has taken a decision to merge the North East and North & West Operating Divisions. Any redesign of the administrative management of this new North Division will be the subject of consultation with all stakeholders, particularly Scottish Ambulance Service staff, and this will be taken forward by a general manager with extensive project management experience. A programme of consultation and engagement is currently being developed. Any changes to the management and administrative structure as a consequence of this merger will not affect the location or deployment of ambulances in the North of Scotland and will not adversely impact on the quality of patient care or the speed of response to emergency calls.

  In the course of her statement on 4 June, the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing advised that the service would be developing a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan, designed to give better information to MSPs, ambulance service staff and the wider public about service development. The Scottish Government expects the ambulance service to apply the principles of such a plan in all circumstances where change may be under consideration. This applies to operational management change as well as to changes that impact on patient care.

Birds

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the European Court of Justice decision C-418/04 (Commission v Ireland), what steps it is taking to ensure that Scotland’s network of Special Protection Areas is large enough to meet the requirements of the EU Birds Directive, in particular in respect of coverage (a) for wide-ranging species such as golden eagle, (b) for scarce species such as bean goose and (c) in inshore waters for those species that depend on them.

Michael Russell: A substantial UK-wide review of the sufficiency of the network of special protection areas was completed in 2001. Following on from that review, work relating to additional areas in Scotland for golden eagle, for bean goose and for species in inshore waters is being progressed by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the membership of the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party.

Stewart Stevenson: The Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party comprises:

  Brian Anderson, Heather Cuckow, Malcolm MacLeod, Bryan McAlister, Lori McElroy, Scott Restrick, Kenneth Ross, Mervyn Toshner, David Wedderburn and Bryan Woodley, with Scottish Government, communities and local government and Northern Ireland officials in attendance.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on which dates the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party has met and on which dates it will meet.

Stewart Stevenson: The Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party met on 28 February 2007 and 1 May 2008. Future meetings are planned for 7 August 2008, 30 October 2008 and 27 November 2008.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party to report.

Stewart Stevenson: It is intended to report in full to ministers, on the proposed changes to section 6 of the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbooks, in early 2009.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the minutes of meetings of the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party.

Stewart Stevenson: The records of the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party meetings can be made available after the consultation on the proposed changes to the 2010 Energy Standards has commenced.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to consult on the next changes to section 6 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.

Stewart Stevenson: It is intended to consult on the next changes to section 6 of the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbooks in early 2009.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next changes to section 6 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 will come into force.

Stewart Stevenson: It is intended that the next changes to section 6 of the Scottish Building Standards Technical Handbooks will come into force in 2010.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which external stakeholders have been consulted in preparing changes to section 6 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and when each stakeholder was consulted.

Stewart Stevenson: Consultation with external stakeholders will take place once the Section 6 proposals have been further developed with the Building Standards Advisory Committee energy working party.

Building Standards

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which external stakeholders it intends to consult in preparing changes to section 6 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and when it intends to meet them.

Stewart Stevenson: Consultation will be widespread and will include bodies that have an interest in property, construction, energy and mitigating climate change. It will not be possible to meet with all interested parties, but consideration will be given in due course to meeting with certain groups.

Care of Elderly People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18457 by Lewis Macdonald on 30 August 2005, whether it monitors cross-border flows in respect of the uptake of free personal care.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not monitor cross-border flows in respect of the uptake of free personal care.

Climate Change

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13460 by Stewart Stevenson on 9 June 2008, by how much it intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the 2011 target date.

Stewart Stevenson: As outlined in The Government Economic Strategy , whether our emission reduction targets will be based on a basket of greenhouse gases or CO 2 alone, will be decided after the public consultation on the proposals for the Scottish Climate Change Bill. Public consultation closed on 23 April and responses are currently being considered.

  The Technical Notes for the 2007 Spending Review (available on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/11/30090722/0) confirm that, pending a final decision on the gases to be covered, the short-term target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the period to 2011 from a baseline of 2005.

Climate Change

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it remains committed to achieving an average 3% reduction in greenhouse gases in each year of the current parliamentary session.

Stewart Stevenson: We are committed to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 which is equivalent to an average reduction of more than 3% per year. Continuous progress to reduce emissions is essential and the Scottish Government believe that reporting an annual measure of progress within a multi-year budget process is the best means of achieving this. Independent, expert advice would be taken on the trajectory of emissions needed to meet our 2050 target.

  We are considering our final approach in light of responses to our consultation on a Scottish Climate Change Bill. In the meantime, we have committed to reduce emissions over the period to 2011 from a baseline of 2005.

Climate Change

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consult on measures to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the existing building stock and whether the results of the consultation will be analysed and published before the commencement of parliamentary scrutiny of the Climate Change Bill.

Stewart Stevenson: A two-stage process of consultation on measures to improve the energy performance of existing buildings is proposed. The first consultation will focus on non-domestic buildings and is expected to be launched within the next few weeks. We will endeavour to provide an analysis of this consultation prior to parliamentary scrutiny of the Climate Change Bill. The second consultation will cover measures related to existing housing and it is planned to issue this later in the year.

Compulsory Purchase

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of the review of home loss payments for property acquired by compulsory purchase.

Stewart Stevenson: The outcome of the review will be announced shortly.

Crofting

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting cost.

Michael Russell: As at 15 July 2008, the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting has cost £574,786.61.

Crofting

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used in appointing the members of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting.

Michael Russell: Appointments to the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting were made by the previous administration.

  I understand that in appointing the independent chair of the inquiry, the previous administration looked for the following skills and experience:

  an understanding of the economics of crofting, in relation to land management and property value;

  a recognition of the requirements for an effective system of regulation;

  effective communications skills and experience of chairing public fora;

  the ability to gain the respect of the crofting community in general and the Scottish Crofting Foundation in particular, and

  a recognition of the importance of crofting to the culture of the Highlands and Islands.

  The chair of the inquiry made recommendations to ministers for appointment to the committee of inquiry based on members’ ability to bring a range of expertise, including of crofting, and geographical coverage, together with an open-minded, imaginative approach to address the committee’s broad terms of reference.

Cycling

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been made of the number of (a) regular cyclists and (b) cycle miles travelled in each year since 2001.

Stewart Stevenson: The links below to various travel studies gives details of modal choice and purpose of journey. The number of miles travelled each year by bicycle is not available.

  Tables 17 and 19 in Travel Diary 2005-06 contain travel by bike statistics for the previous day.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/04/16110121/0.

  The high level trend for travel to work is given here:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/TrendTraveltoWork.

  Trends from 1999 are given in the attached link in tables M and N:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/10/08091115/0.

  Section 2 of the National Travel Survey 2006 will give estimates of distance but this is only based on a sample of 900 in Scotland per year and the bicycle numbers will be a small fraction of this.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it now proposes to take to bring jobs to Dundee, in view of the decision by Norwich Union to relocate 350 jobs from its Dundee office to its Perth office.

Jim Mather: We have pledged to make Scotland a more investment-ready country by lowering the tax burden and adjusting regulatory policies for both indigenous and overseas companies.

  In addition to these measures, Dundee benefits from a number of key assets; excellent education facilities, high-end life science and digital technology industry sectors, location and connectivity. The opportunities for the city to flourish are considerable, and we continue to work with the local authority and others to ensure that these opportunities are fully exploited.

Employment

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support workers facing redundancy following Pringle of Scotland’s proposal to end manufacturing in Hawick.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative has been triggered and the local PACE team met with employees of Pringle of Scotland in Hawick on Tuesday 22 July. The meeting provided an opportunity for staff affected by Pringle’s recent announcement to obtain full details of the support, advice, guidance and retraining options available to help them access alternative employment opportunities.

  PACE partners intend to hold a skills based event for Pringle’s staff during the week beginning 11 August 2008, which will include advice on updating CVs, opportunities to undertake mock interviews and update IT skills.

  The Cabinet Secretary met with John Lamont MSP, Christine Grahame MSP, local councillors, Pringle of Scotland management and trade unions to discuss the situation on 2 July 2008.

Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of legislation introduced to the Parliament of Australia on 18 June 2008 which will establish the world’s first comprehensive framework for carbon dioxide capture and geological storage; what contact it has held with the Australian Government regarding this legislation, and what lessons it considers Scotland might learn from the Australian example.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is aware of the legislation introduced in Australia regarding carbon capture and storage (CCS). Specifically, under the sister state agreement between Scotland and the Australian state of Victoria, CCS is being considered as a potential area of collaboration and officials have been in contact with Victoria to discuss particular areas of interest.

  The Scottish Government is playing a leading role in terms of co-assisting further research on CCS and ensuring that all opportunities are considered, including learning from other countries.

  The Scottish Government is currently developing a legislative framework for the offshore storage of carbon dioxide as part of the UK Energy bill. We are currently consulting on this jointly with the UK government. We will also be responsible for implementing the EU directive for carbon storage in Scotland.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether energy performance certificates will give information on (a) the asset rating of a building, (b) the operational rating of a building or (c) both and what the reasons were for its decision on this matter.

Stewart Stevenson: All energy performance certificates will be produced using an asset based rating that follows the methodology framework set out in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The principal benefit of an Asset Rating is that it has the power to influence the people who can make a difference to the building fabric and services, the building owners. A consultation on the implementation of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Directive was carried out in 2006, and a significant majority of consultees supported the asset based approach.

Energy Efficiency

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure compliance with the requirement to display energy performance certificates where the building in question is owned or leased by a local authority.

Stewart Stevenson: Responsibility for compliance for all buildings lies with the local authority. Where cases of non-compliance occur, an authority will be in a position to serve a notice in order to address contraventions.

Energy Efficiency

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it intends to take to raise public awareness about the requirement for an energy performance certificate at point of rental or sale of a property from January 2009.

Stewart Stevenson: Seminars are planned later this year for those involved in the sale/rental process and a range of guidance leaflets for different sectors is being developed at present.

Energy Efficiency

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether information from the energy performance certificates for new buildings will be incorporated into the Home Energy Efficiency Database and what its position is on the matter.

Stewart Stevenson: Information from energy performance certificates for new buildings is placed on the building standards register maintained by local authorities. There are no plans at present to record this information on the Home Energy Efficiency Database.

Energy Efficiency

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it defines a "public building" in complying with the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings.

Stewart Stevenson: Public building means a building with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres, which is occupied by public authorities and institutions providing public services, and which can be visited by the public. Guidance is also provided in Clause 6.9.3 of the Scottish Building Standards Non-Domestic Technical Handbook.

Forensic Science

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that police forces across Scotland would be best served by the elimination or amalgamation of any of the current forensic fingerprint laboratories.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14989 on 28 July 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will work with the commercial and voluntary sectors to expand access to different weight management options as well as primary care to offer a menu of options to suit different individuals.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government works with a range of delivery partners in the commercial and voluntary sector on initiatives outlined in Healthy Eating, Active Living: An action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity. We will publish guidance for NHS boards on locally delivered healthy weight strategies by the end of 2008. This will cover treatment in primary, secondary and tertiary care, addressing coordination of services through local regional and national pathways. The guidance will encourage NHS boards to work with partners in these sectors wherever possible.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assist parents of obese children to address weight problems and encourage personal responsibility for health.

Shona Robison: As set out in Healthy Eating, Active Living, the Scottish Government funds a range of initiatives to encourage physical activity, healthy eating and healthy weight aimed at children and their families. Of the £56 million available for initiatives dedicated to tackling obesity, and promoting healthy eating and physical activity, £6 million will be made available to NHS boards to support delivery of family-focused childhood healthy weight intervention programmes and £19 million will be made available to improve nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged communities.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals which did and did not achieve its hand washing targets in each month for which figures are available.

Nicola Sturgeon: Since the introduction of the hand hygiene targets in January 2007 Health Protection Scotland (HPS) have collected and published the figures at an NHS board level.

  The latest HPS quarterly report Compliance with Hand Hygiene Audit Report was published on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, and can be found at http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private contractors have applied to build and run GP centres in each NHS board area in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison: None.

  We have interpreted the question to mean applications from commercial companies only. Applications from GP practices are not included.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private contractors have applied to run GP centres in each NHS board in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison: Two applications made up of one application in Fife in 2005 and one application in Lanarkshire in 2006.

  We have interpreted the question to mean applications from commercial companies only. Applications from GP practices are not included.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private GP clinics are currently in operation in each NHS board area.

Shona Robison: This information is not collected.

Health

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that health visitors should be allocated to particular GP practices.

Shona Robison: It is for health boards to decide whether health visitors should be allocated to particular GP practices.

Health

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it values the relationship between families and health visitors.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recognises the important contribution made by the skills of health visitors in meeting the needs of patients.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of individuals employed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise was in 2007-08.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts will be, or have been, transferred from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to local authorities in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to write to you in this regard.

Land

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that implementing the recommendations in the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Conversion of Long Leases could result in common good assets that are let on a long lease being transferred into private ownership.

John Swinney: Officials in Constitution, Law and Courts Directorate are currently giving consideration to the Scottish Law Commission’s report and the Scottish Government will take a view in due course about a response to its recommendations and the timing of any bill.

Land

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that existing common good assets should remain held in the common good in perpetuity.

John Swinney: It is the responsibility of each Local Authority to manage its common good assets and funds in accordance with all current statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance.

Land

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure common good assets are protected and retained for community ownership in any future legislation regarding the conversion of long leases.

John Swinney: The protection of common good assets and their retention for community ownership will be given careful consideration in any future legislative proposals on the conversion of long leases.

Land

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing legislation to protect the status of existing common good assets in perpetuity.

John Swinney: There is already legal protection for common good assets held in perpetuity. The question of whether the existing legislation is sufficient is being considered by my officials in consultation with local government.

Ministerial Engagements

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements were undertaken by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning outside the City of Edinburgh Council area in May 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements were undertaken by the Minister for Children and Early Years outside the City of Edinburgh Council area in May 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements were undertaken by the Minister for Schools and Skills outside the City of Edinburgh Council area in May 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements were undertaken by the Minister for Communities and Sport outside the City of Edinburgh Council area in May 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements were undertaken by the Minister for Environment outside the City of Edinburgh Council area in May 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

John Swinney: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46240).

Ministerial Engagements

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many ministerial engagements took place in the Dumfries constituency during May 2008, broken down by minister.

John Swinney: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46241).

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many epilepsy nurse specialists there are in (a) NHS Tayside and (b) Scotland, shown on a (i) whole-time equivalent and (ii) head count basis.

Shona Robison: The requested information is as follows:

  Epilepsy Nurse Specialists (as at 30 September 2007)

  

 
 NHS Tayside
 Scotland


 Whole-Time Equivalent
 2.0
 15.0


 Head Count
 2
 16



  Source: Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland.

Postal Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Royal Mail about the importance to businesses in remote and marginal communities of retaining a universal rate for the postage of goods across the UK.

Jim Mather: I last met Royal Mail Group on 21 May 2008 where we discussed a number of issues including the universal service rate. The Scottish Government’s position on the retention of a universal rate is set out in our response to the Independent Review of the UK Postal Services Market at the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/postalreviewresponse .

  A copy of our response was forwarded separately to the Royal Mail Group on 2 June 2008.

Postal Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the retention of a universal rate for the postage of goods across the UK and, if so, whether it accepts that this is an important factor for businesses in remote and marginal communities.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government supports the retention of a universal rate for the postage of goods across the UK. Scotland’s geography and our proportionately larger rural and small business sectors render the continuation of the universal service obligation vital to maintain the drive against social exclusion, to enhance community cohesion and to support fragile local communities.

  I refer the member to the Scottish Government’s response to the Independent Review of the UK Postal Services Market at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/postalreviewresponse.

Public Transport

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-14183 by Stewart Stevenson on 25 June 2008, which indicated that no statutory quality partnerships have been introduced, why the Media Calling Notice of 31 August 2005 stated that during a visit to Dundee City Chambers the then Minister for Transport and Telecommunications would witness the signing of a quality partnership between Dundee City Council and Travel Dundee and that this would be the first statutory quality partnership to be introduced.

Stewart Stevenson: On 1 September 2005 the then Minister for Transport and Telecommunications witnessed the signing of a commitment between Dundee City Council and Travel Dundee to work with the Traffic Commissioner to deliver a statutory quality partnership on 1 April 2006. Although no statutory Quality Partnership was subsequently established under the terms of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001, a voluntary agreement between Dundee City Council, Travel Dundee, Strathtay Scottish (now Stagecoach) and Tayside Police has been in place since 25 May 2004. Dundee City Council is currently working on introducing a statutory quality partnership scheme in Dundee.

Road Accidents

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents there have been on the A1 in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) duelled and (b) single carriageway sections.

Stewart Stevenson: The number of personal injury accidents recorded on the A1 in each of the last five years broken down by (a) dual carriageway and (b) single carriageway sections is as shown in the following table.

  A1 Personal Injury Accidents

  

 
 Dual Carriageway
 Single Carriageway
 Total


 2003
 22
 25
 47


 2004
 26
 12
 38


 2005
 33
 22
 55


 2006
 25
 19
 44


 2007
 28
 19
 47


 Total
 134
 97
 231



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Roads

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the A1 between Dunbar and the Scottish Borders.

Stewart Stevenson: There are currently no plans to upgrade the A1 between Dunbar and the Scottish Borders. However, Transport Scotland’s strategic transport projects review is examining the longer term needs of Scotland’s national strategic transport network. This includes consideration of the A1, as part of the transport corridor between Edinburgh and the north east of England and beyond.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the continuation of EU minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government fully supported the continuation of the minimum import price (MIP) and did not agree that it should be repealed. It believes that the MIP has contributed a degree of stability in an otherwise volatile market place.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government on securing a continuation of the EU minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon and when such discussions took place.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has had a continuing dialogue with the UK Government throughout the interim review from the time it was announced on 21 April 2007. This was most intensive from mid-February 2008 onwards when there was frequent e-mail and phone-call correspondence; a number of meetings were also held.

  These discussions covered a range of subjects that would support the continuance of the measures such as the preparation of papers to be submitted to the commission; the arrangements of meetings with the European Commission; the handling of the Scottish and UK support for the measures in the Anti-Dumping Committee and the lobbying of UK views to other member states.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how often Scottish ministers have met UK ministers to discuss the continuation of minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon.

Michael Russell: Scottish ministers undertook a number of discussions about the continuation of the minimum import price arrangements with UK ministers by telephone and by e-mail, although no face-to-face meetings occurred.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions Scottish ministers and officials have had with EU member states, and with which states, regarding the continuation of minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon.

Michael Russell: I met the deputy DG Trade in Brussels on 4 February 2008 and the DG Trade in Brussels on the 23 April 2008 specifically to discuss the matter.

  The Scottish Government, together with the UK and Ireland, circulated a joint paper to all member states on 22 May 2008 which opposed the conclusions to the European Commission’s Interim Review.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Norwegian Government regarding the continuation of minimum import price arrangements which have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon; what position it set out to the Norwegian Government; what attitude the Norwegian Government took to such discussions; what measures have been proposed to the Norwegian Government, and what its response has been.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has proposed that Scotland and Norway explore joint working and closer co-operation on a range of issues of joint concern in aquaculture. I met the Norwegian fisheries minister in Oslo on 13 June 2008 to discuss these matters after several meetings between officials. Further ministerial discussion will take place in the autumn.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place between its special advisers and those of UK ministers regarding the continuation of the EU minimum import price arrangements that have protected Scottish salmon farming from the cheap importation of Norwegian farmed salmon.

Michael Russell: No discussions took place between its special advisers and those of UK ministers regarding the continuation of the minimum import price.

Scottish Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13128 by Jim Mather on 3 June 2008, what budget was allocated by Scottish Enterprise to each of the projects referred to in the answer.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed by Scottish Enterprise.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts will be, or have been, transferred from the Scottish Enterprise network to local authorities in 2008-09, broken down by local authority area.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to write to you in this regard.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what functions envisaged for the Scottish Futures Trust could reasonably be said to be being already provided by the Private Finance Unit of the Scottish Government.

John Swinney: The aim of the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is to support the effective planning, funding and delivery of public sector infrastructure investment across Scotland, providing a better deal for taxpayers as a result. This will be assisted through aggregation of projects and the deployment of expertise to maximise value. SFT will be performing a much broader role than that currently provided by the Scottish Government Financial Partnerships Unit.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when all regional transport strategies will be given final approval.

Stewart Stevenson: Three of the seven strategies have been given final approval by the Scottish Ministers and approval of the remaining four is expected soon.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it has had in the revision of regional transport strategies since their original submission to the Scottish Government.

Stewart Stevenson: In January the Scottish Government requested that strategies be revised to become strategic, high-level documents that focused on the transport strategies necessary to support the Government’s key objectives and the single outcome agreements of the constituent local authorities. Separate delivery plans agreed by the individual partnerships with their constituent councils will determine regional transport delivery priorities.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it will make to the delivery of regional transport strategies.

Stewart Stevenson: The seven Regional Transport Partnerships received revenue funding amounting to £5.3 million in 2007-08 to assist with the delivery of their strategies. All capital funding was incorporated into the local government settlement for the period 2008-11.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it is giving local authorities on how to fund and support the delivery of regional transport strategies.

Stewart Stevenson: Following the concordat agreement and Scottish Budget announcement, determination of regional transport funding priorities is a matter for local authorities and the regional transport partnerships.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what requirement local authorities are under to deliver regional transport strategies

Stewart Stevenson: Local authority representatives form the majority of the regional transport partnership membership which has agreed the regional transport strategy (RTS). Constituent councils are under a duty, so far as possible, to perform their transport functions consistently with the applicable RTS.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment will be made of local authorities’ progress towards the delivery of regional transport strategies and what action will be taken if adequate progress is not being made.

Stewart Stevenson: Delivery of the strategies is a matter for each regional transport partnership working in partnership with their constituent councils. Regional transport partnerships are required to provide Scottish ministers with an annual report detailing their performance against their objectives, targets and performance indicators.

Wildlife

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it believes to be the reason for the decline of the golden eagle population on the east side of the Highlands.

Michael Russell: The report highlights two key constraints affecting golden eagle populations. In the eastern and central Highlands many tradionally occupied golden eagle territories now lie empty while others have a high turnover of breeding birds. The evidence shows that this pattern is strongly associated with some grouse moors. In some parts of the western Highlands, the lack of live prey is a significant constraint apparently leading to poor production by golden eagles, with some territories rarely producing any flying young. There is an association between this deficiency and land management practices including intensive burning and heavy grazing.

Wildlife

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to take any further action to ensure protection of the golden eagle population from all forms of persecution.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government will continue to pursue measures which will improve the conservation status of golden eagles. Scottish Natural Heritage is currently giving consideration to the identification of further special protection areas for golden eagles and will make recommendations to ministers on this in due course. The Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime is working to strengthen and develop inter-agency work to combat wildlife crime.

Wildlife

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to expand the population of golden eagles into suitable areas where it does not presently have a foothold.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is working with Scottish Natural Heritage to consider ways of expanding the population across Scotland, notably in the south of Scotland where the golden eagle is currently scarce. Reintroductions may be possible, but there are a number of factors that exercise influence on natural patterns of spread and colonisation of golden eagles and the challenges for securing improvement in their conservation status are correspondingly complex.